POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR .

POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR OCCUPIEDLAND1. Terms and Definitions(1) In this Policy;“apical” Means the main, dominant, central stem of a tree;“arborist” means a person who is:(a) certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), orcertified as an arborist technician by the British Columbia IndustryTraining Authority ; and(b) is certified as a tree risk assessor by the ISA : and(c) holds a valid subsisting business licence from the City or a validand subsisting inter-municipal business licence from a participatingmunicipality;“boulevard” means that portion of the street lying between the edge ofpavement and the adjacent lot line; and for a street having two or moreroadways, that portion of the street lying between the highways and whichmay be solid in construction or grassed;“City”, “City Council” means the City of Colwood;“certified tree risk assessor” means a certified arborist with additionalcurrent training and certification in tree risk assessment determined byWorksafe BC;“damage”, “damaged”, or “damaging” means any action which will cause atree to die or to decline in health, including, but not limited to girdling, ringing,removing bark from a tree, denting, gouging, puncturing or damaging a treetrunk, poisoning, burning, undermining structural roots within the critical rootzone of a tree, depositing or removing soil from the base of a tree, excessivepruning, excessive crown raising, topping, or pruning in a manner not inaccordance with the most recent edition of the American National StandardsInstitute Publication (ANSI) A300 and the most recent edition of thecompanion publication “Best Management Practices – Tree Pruning”,published by the International Society of Arboriculture;

POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR OCCUPIED LANDpage 2“Director of Engineering & Public Works” means the person designated tomanage the City’s parks and boulevards;“drip line” means the area defined by the outermost circumference of a treecanopy where water drips from and onto the ground;“hazardous tree” means a tree identified in writing by an arborist as havingdefects sufficient to significantly increase the likelihood that all or part of thetree will fall, resulting in a risk of personal injury, death, or property damage;“highway” includes a public street, road, trail, lane, bridge, viaduct,walkway, and any other way open to public use;“park” means areas designated or dedicated by plan or bylaw as parkland ornatural open space, or included within the Parks and Beaches RegulationBylaw, 2011, No. 286;‘natural area(s)” means areas that are typically made up of continuous treecover in remnants of second growth forest or edgelands; continuousherbaceous cover with discontinuous tree cover, found along road, rail,waterfront and waterways;“pruning” means the cutting of twigs, branches or roots in accordance withthe most recent edition of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)A300 and the latest edition of the companion publication “Best ManagementPractices – Tree Pruning”, published by the International Society ofArboriculture;“remove”, “removed”, “removal”, or “removing” means to cut a tree andremove it from the lot where it exists;“resident(s)” means the person or persons ordinarily residing within themunicipal boundaries or persons who own property used for businesspurposes in the City;“topping” or “topped” means the drastic reduction of a tree’s apical growthby removal of significant portions of a tree crown by cutting branches to stubsor to the trunk, or cutting the main leader or branches, and includes retopping or previously topped trees;“tree(s)” means long-lived perennial plant(s) that are woody and have a selfsupporting trunk with a root system. May be deciduous or evergreen andincludes all living parts;“utility lines” Means all transmission lines for power, telephone, and cableand includes underground potable water, storm drainage, and sanitarydrainage systems.

POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR OCCUPIED LANDpage 32. Protection of Trees on City-owned or occupied land(1) It is the express objective of the City to ensure the long-term sustainability ofits urban forest assets.(2) Preservation of existing trees is a priority for the City, and is requiredwhenever conditions permit.(3) The management of trees on City property is the responsibility of the City ofColwood’s Engineering Department.(4) Only the City’s Public Works staff or contractors approved by the Director ofEngineering & Public Works (or designate) are authorized to carry out workon City trees.(5) No other person may plant, prune, remove, or otherwise undertake anyactivity that may affect the health and welfare of a tree on City propertywithout first obtaining permission from the Director of Engineering & PublicWorks (or designate).(6) Penalties for the unauthorized cutting, breaking, injuring, removal or in anyway destroy or damage of tress in City Parks or on any beach are included inthe Parks and Beaches Regulation Bylaw, 2011, No. 286(7) Trees are considered joint property when any portion of the trunk crosses aproperty line.3. Tree removal request(1) Requests for the removal of tree(s) from City property will not be considered:a) for the enhancement or maintenance of view corridors;b) due to shade becoming an issue with properties close to parks or naturalareas;c) due to issues or leaf, flower, seed litter, driveway upheaval, or any othernaturally occurring, seasonal situation; ord) that are in contravention or contradiction to federal or provincial Acts

POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR OCCUPIED LANDpage 4(2) Pruning work, solely where required for the maintenance or health of trees,will be carried out at the discretion of the Director of Engineering & PublicWorks (or designate).4. Tree removal Criteria(1) Requests for the removal of tree(s) from City property will only be consideredwhere the tree(s) is;a) inhibiting or interfering with the normal development of a more desirabletree;b) endangering the stability or health of another, more desirable tree;c) a hazardous tree as determined by a certified tree risk assessor;d) an extreme public nuisance or risk due to size, species, location, oroverall condition;e) causing a traffic safety and/or sightline problem by encroaching into ahighway in such a way that visibility, pedestrian or vehicle clearance isreduced, and such problems cannot be mitigated by any other means;f)impeding the development of a highway, utilities, drainage, or a Cityowned facility, and such problems cannot be mitigated by any othermeans;g) affecting overhead utility lines where pruning options are not consideredpractical, and a request from the utility provider to remove the tree(s) is inwriting;h) has been severely damaged by natural causes and poses an imminentdanger of falling and injuring persons or property; ori)the removal of the tree has been approved as part of an overall municipalplan.5. Notification(1) Prior to the removal of a tree(s) notification will be provided by;a) posting a sign on the tree(s); and/or

POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR OCCUPIED LANDpage 5b) information on the City’s web site and/or social media(2) Emergency removal of City tree(s) can be undertaken by the City withoutnotification.6. Permit Application for Tree cutting(1) An application for tree cutting of City tree(s) that meets one or more of thecriteria set out in section 4 of this Policy shall;(a) be made in the form prescribed by the City of Colwood and signed by theowner, agent or a signing officer if the owner is a corporation;(b) provide a copy of insurance from a certified arborist indemnifying the Cityfrom all costs arising from the work; and(c) provide a copy of the certified arborist’s current Inter-municipal or City ofColwood business licence(2) As a condition of approval, the applicant;(a) must bear the entire cost of the tree(s) removal, including the stump;(b) is responsible for the cost of supplying and installing appropriatereplacement trees as detailed in Schedule A of this Policy, or asdeemed appropriate by the Director of Engineering & Public Works.(3) In all cases, the City retains final and absolute discretion to refuse theremoval of any tree(s) from City Property, even those which meet the criterianoted in Section 4 of this policy.7. Damage to Property or Services(1) Damage from tree roots is considered a nuisance. There is currently noliability upon Municipalities in British Columbia on actions based on nuisance;by virtue of the current Provincial Statute Law governing municipalities, theCity of Colwood is not responsible for such damage resulting from City trees.(2) Where it is noted that City trees may be responsible for damage to privateproperty or services, residents will be requested to outline their concerns orclaims in writing to the City.

POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR OCCUPIED LANDpage 68. Maintenance(1) A City tree that becomes a hazardous tree shall be maintained or removed bythe City so as not to endanger, interfere or otherwise conflict withrequirements of safe public use of an area.(2) City trees shall be maintained in such a manner as to promote general goodhealth.(3) All pruning of City trees shall be completed by City staff or contractorsapproved by the Director of Engineering & Public Works (or designate).(4) Topping of City trees is not an acceptable pruning practice. No considerationto topping of City trees will be undertaken unless the following circumstancesapply:(a) No other options are available, and statutory clearance from overheadservices is required; and/or(b) A tree has been previously topped and requires re-topping to mitigatesafety concerns; and/or(c) Where a decision has been made by the City to remove a tree from anatural area, a tree may be topped to provide habitat as a “wildlife tree”.(5) City Staff shall complete pruning work on City trees, upon request andavailable resources, to ensure appropriate clearances from structures onprivate property.(6) Trees in “natural areas” will be maintained in as much of a natural state aspossible.9. Private Property(1) This Policy is for the management of trees on City property only, not privateproperty.10. Tree Planting(1) Trees removed from City property will be planted with a suitablereplacement during the planting season where budget restraints allow.

POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY OWNED OR OCCUPIED LANDpage 7(2) All trees planted on City property will be in accordance with Schedule Aof this Policy, or as otherwise deemed appropriate and agreed to inadvance by the Director of Engineering & Public Works (or designate).(3) Planting areas will be evaluated by the Director of Engineering & PublicWorks (or designate) prior to the planting of any tree(s) on City property.(4) No tree(s) will be planted on City property where it is deemed a safetyissue.(5) Street tree replacements shall be at a 2 for 1 ratio (two new trees forany one removed), unless the diameter of the tree removed is greaterthan 600mm; which shall be replaced at a 3 for 1 ratio (three new treesfor any one removed).

Institute Publication (ANSI) A300 and the most recent edition of the companion publication “Best Management Practices – Tree Pruning”, published by the International Society of Arboriculture; POLICY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TREES ON CITY page OWNED OR OCCUPIED LAND 2 “Director of Engineering & Public Works” means the person designated to manage the City’s parks and boulevards; “drip .